Lin Dan- the great of world badminton
The great of world badminton has announced its retirement on
3rd July. He began his junior-level career by winning the Badminton
Asia Junior Championship held at Kyoto in 2000 at Boys singles. In 1999, he won
a bronze medal in doubles category in Yangon. With the Chinese boys’ team, Lin Dan
was a part of the team which won the Asia Badminton Team Championship in 2000.
He won the bronze medal in the men’s singles of boy’s singles of
World Junior Championships in 2000 played in Guangzhou. Apart from the bronze
medal, he was a part of the team which won the mixed team event of World Junior
Championships in 2000 played in Guangzhou.
Lin Dan's professional career began in the year 2001. He
reached the finals of the tournament and lost to his Chinese compatriot Xia
Xuanze. His first international title came at the 2002 Korea Open. He finished with a career
record with 666 wins and 128 losses. The left-handed badminton from China won a
staggering 66 titles overall.
The Chinese great played with a lot of great players like Lee
Chong Wei of Malaysia, Peter Grade and shown his skills with drop shots and
smashes.
He won a total of 4 gold medals in the Asian Championships. His
first gold medal came in the 2010 edition played in New Delhi, 2011 in Chengdu,
2014 in Gimechon and 2015 in Wuhan. Apart from 4 gold medals, he won 2 silver
medals in 2015 at Wuhan and 2011 at Manila. He also won 3 bronze medals in 2008
at Johor Baru, 2012 at Qingdao and 2016 in Wuhan. All these medals were in the singles category.
Dan has been great for China in the Asian Games. He won his
first men’s singles title in 2010 Asian Games at Guangzhou, 2014 Asian Games in
Incheon. In 2006, 2010 and 2014, he was a part of the team which won the gold
medal at Asian Games.
He was great at the prestigious Sudirman Cup where China
won 5 gold medals in 2005 at Beijing, 2007 at Glasgow, 2009 at Guangzhou, 2011
in Qingdao and 2015 at Dongguan.
The Chinese great also won 5 gold medals in World
Championships. His first World Championship title was in 2006 at Madrid, 2007
at Kuala Lumpur, 2009 at Hyderabad, 2011 in London, 2013 in Guangzhou. Apart
from these 5 gold medals, he also won 2 silver medals in 2005 at Anaheim and
2017 at Glasgow. He became the first man since Yang Yang to win back to back
World Championship titles.
His greatness was shown when he won his first gold medal at
the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. He defeated Lee Chong Wei in two straight
sets by 21-12, 21-8. In the 2012 London Olympic, Lin Dan defeated Chong Wei in
three-set thrillers by 21-15, 10-21, 21-19. He lost to the Malaysian opponent
Lee Chong in the semi-finals of the 2016 Rio Olympics.
He was a part of the Chinese Team which won the Thomas Cup
title in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2018.
Apart from two Olympic gold medals, he also won 6 All
England Badminton Championships. In 2018, he entered a record 10th
All England Championship finals but lost to Shi Yuqi.
He won the Malaysia Open title in 2019 beating Chen Long in
the finals. Due to injury, he was not able to perform at his best. It was
an amazing career for Dan and hoping for a great career ahead.
 |
| Lin Dan retries from international badminton |
Comments